DOE-ID
Bi-Weekly Summary
For the Period September 12 to September 26, 2011

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is a regular summary
of operations at DOE's Idaho Site. It has been compiled
in response to a request from stakeholders for more
information on health, safety and environmental
incidents at DOE facilities in Idaho. It also includes a
brief summary of accomplishments at the laboratory. The
report is broken down by contractor:
Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP),
Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP)
and
Idaho National Laboratory (INL). This summary will
be sent to everyone on INL's regular news release
distribution list every other week. To be added to this
distribution list, please call Brad Bugger at (208)
526-0833.

Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project

Nothing to report.

Operational Summary

Waste Shipments: As of Sept. 17, 2011, a total of
36,412 cubic meters of contact-handled transuranic
waste, 106.72 cubic meters of remote-handled transuranic
waste, and 4,904 cubic meters of previously-buried
transuranic waste have been shipped from Idaho to the
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico for disposal.

Idaho Cleanup Project

Nothing to report.

Operational Summary

New Haul Road Completed: A new haul road for heavy
cask transfers was completed and the Department of
Energy accepted the transfer on September 15, 2011. The
new haul road ties the Materials and Fuels Complex with
the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center and
provides the opportunity to retain heavy cask shipments
on site to avoid the shutdown of public highways. The
new haul road is approximately ten miles long and is one
of the final Recovery Act-funded projects in Idaho.

Idaho National Laboratory

Sept. 13: The #3 Deep Well diesel generator was
declared inoperable during testing at the Advanced Test
Reactor Complex. The reactor was in a planned outage at
the time. Replacement parts were ordered and the
generator was repaired. (NE-ID—BEA-ATR-2011-0016).

Sept. 14: An inadequate lockout/tagout was observed
at the Specific Manufacturing Capability (SMC) Project.
No exposure to hazardous energy was present and there
was no exposure to personnel. A safety stand-down was
initiated until a review of all SMC lockout/tagouts was
performed. (NE-ID—BEA-SMC-2011-0013).

Sept. 22: A laborer suffered a torn tendon while
trying to lift heavy equipment at University Building 4
on the INL’s Research and Education Campus. He was
diagnosed by a private physician and surgery was
scheduled. An accident investigation was completed.
(NE-ID—BEA-STC-2011-0006).

Sept. 22: Researchers found an incorrectly identified
radioactive source during material evaluation at an
Idaho Falls laboratory facility. The source was labeled
as Germanium-68, but was in fact Sodium-22. The
misidentification occurred when a Sodium-22 source was
mislabeled at the Fuels and Applied Sciences Building
and incorrectly sent to the Idaho Falls Physics Lab as
Germanium-68. Laboratory management was notified and a
critique of the incident was scheduled.
(NE-ID—BEA-INL-LABS-2011-0005).

Sept. 26: A contractor at the Nevada National
Security Site (NNSS) notified the Idaho National
Laboratory (INL) that wooden waste containers shipped
from the INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex were leaking
dry, granular absorbent upon delivery at the NNSS. There
was no hazardous or radioactive material in the leaked
absorbent. A copy of the material safety data sheet for
the absorbent was provided to the Nevada contractor and
an administrative hold was placed on shipping wooden
waste containers to offsite locations pending further
evaluation. The leak was reported to the NNSA state
regulator. (NE-ID—BEA-MFC-2011-0006).

Operational Summary

Back to School: Scientists and engineers from
industry, academia and national labs headed back to
school this summer to learn how to use two new
cutting-edge research tools at the
Center for Advanced Energy Studies located at the
Idaho National Laboratory.
More than 30 students attended the CAES-sponsored
courses, one of which focused on 3D visualization using
the center's computer-assisted virtual environment
(CAVE) and another on materials characterization and
analysis using a focused ion beam and a local electrode
atom probe in CAES' new Microscopy and Characterization
Suite (MaCS). This is the first year CAES has offered
the summer courses.